Chapter 13

One

A little while back, when Jinmihao first opened the door of the Qingyun Hall and walked in.

‘Gulp!’

When Youshinyun first saw the existence of his fiancée, his head began to ache as if it were splitting.

It was a familiar experience.

It was the same reaction he had when he first met You Jinxiang.

-...someone like you...

A voice echoed in his mind, accompanied by excruciating pain.

He felt a groan about to escape, but he gritted his teeth and endured it with superhuman patience.

He couldn't afford to show his pain in front of everyone from the escort agency, as it would do him no good at all.

Swoosh.

He subtly drew a very faint sound of mana and circulated it through his mana circuits, so that the effect was merely a slight squint of his eyes. This allowed him to endure the pain without anyone in the room noticing.

"Truly, it has been a long time since we've seen the young masters and the vice chief..."

At that moment, Jinmihao started the conversation, but Youshinyun couldn't focus at all.

The voices and memories were becoming vivid.

-My name is Jinmihao, big brother. Let's be close friends.

The image of Jinmihao showing active affection towards him from the first meeting.

-Oh, then we must be each other's first love, right?

The image of her blushing and being delighted when their engagement was decided, as if she were his first love.

-Ha, if it weren't for the position of successor of the Baiyun Escort Agency, would a pig like you ever dare to be engaged to me? Don't even acknowledge me in public from now on, or I'll kill you.

The unforgettable abusive words and contemptuous gaze he heard when they were alone after his father passed away and he was pushed out of the succession.

And...

-Ha! Ha! Ha!

The image of Jinmihao deliberately showing him her pleasure while having a relationship with You Jinxiang.

‘No wonder her face seemed familiar.’

When he thought about where he had seen her, it turned out that she was the woman who had made harsh moans in his memories of You Jinxiang.

A despicable woman who pursued power and money by any means necessary, while hiding her true self behind a mask of false purity and elegance.

That was Jinmihao's true face.

‘To have been engaged to such a person, it's truly terrifying.’

A chill ran down his spine, and he shivered.

"However, if the problem mentioned earlier is resolved quickly, Chief may change his mind."

Gradually, the sounds of the real conversation began to reach his ears.

‘I must declare the annulment of the engagement.’

He organized his thoughts and was about to speak.

But then.

‘Hmm?’

Another memory suddenly surfaced in Youshinyun's mind.

-What have I done wrong! The filthy and lowly creatures lived and died for my pleasure, and these scums would even thank me as they died!

The atmosphere was very different from the previous scenes that had come to mind.

A series of warriors with the character 'Meng' embroidered on their chests were dragging the blood-soaked and disheveled limbs of Jinmihao.

Behind her, in the warehouse, were various bloodstained torture tools and the bodies of what appeared to be beggars and vagrants.

The scene ended there.

‘What is this memory...’

Youshinyun's mind was as tangled as a ball of yarn.

But there was no choice.

This memory contained an inexplicable and enormous contradiction.

‘This is not a memory from the past. This is...’

Based on his guess, it was a memory from the ‘future,’ an unknown amount of time from now.

How could a memory of a future he had not experienced appear in his mind?

Was Youshinyun not truly dead at the funeral?

If so, was Youshinyun destined to be resurrected, regardless of who he was?

And did he continue to live?

Who exactly had he become?

It was full of questions.

‘...Youshinyun, what secret are you hiding?’

The sudden questions fueled his suspicion about the original owner of his body.

His thoughts deepened.

But.

He quickly organized his thoughts.

‘...I can't know for sure now.’

There was no way to resolve these questions immediately, and he couldn't just stand by and watch the current situation.

‘As I level up, I can learn the skill to unlock the memories buried deep within. ...Yes, when that time comes, I will know for sure.’

He concluded and then said,

"I want to annul my engagement with you."

He proposed the annulment of the engagement to Jinmihao.

When Youshinyun finished speaking, everyone, regardless of their side, looked bewildered.

But soon, they began to grasp the current situation.

‘What's going on here?’

‘What did the young master just say?’

‘Not going to stop him?’

‘No, did he say he wants to annul his engagement with Jinmihao?’

Trying to understand the situation, they couldn't make sense of the reality.

Everyone had expected the opposite scenario, where Jinmihao would abandon Youshinyun, and Youshinyun would cling to her.

No one could speak, shocked.

The silence in the room was broken by Jinmihao.

"Are you saying you want to annul our engagement?"

She gritted her teeth, speaking each word with effort.

"Yes."

But Youshinyun answered as if it were nothing.

Seeing this, a genuine emotion flashed in Jinmihao's eyes for the first time.

An intense look of hatred and cruelty, which seemed impossible for such a pitiful woman.

Youshinyun looked at her calmly.

‘Indeed, the fragments of memory were not wrong.’

Then, Youshinyun said, scratching his ear with a finger,

"Why no answer? Do you still have any lingering feelings for me?"

“...!”

Shaking.

Jinmihao trembled with humiliation.

Unable to continue speaking due to the shock of Youshinyun's words, she remained silent.

"Have the nerve! A scum like you to our young miss!"

Fang Haili burst into anger, his face turning red.

"Can't you show some respect! Calling the young master a scum!"

Lao Daixiong leaped to his feet, roaring.

Supporting Youshinyun as the next chief, regardless of whether they supported him or not, it was unbearable for the successor to be insulted by a subordinate of another faction in such an official setting.

Ignoring the tense atmosphere, Youshinyun shrugged and said,

"Anyway, it seems you were also planning to bring up the annulment. What's the problem?"

"Is that what you call talking!"

Fang Haili hesitated for a moment, knowing Youshinyun's words were true, but then roared.

But it was understandable.

There was a world of difference between a woman breaking off an engagement and a man being dumped.

If this went on, the rumor that Bai Linhua of the Jin Family was humiliated by the pig of the Baiyun Escort Agency would spread across the continent.

‘...If that happens, I'll lose my head to the chief, who dotes on his daughter.’

Thinking of his master, who was as cruel as the leader of the Black Path, Fang Haili swallowed hard.

But regardless of his state, Youshinyun continued,

"Well, the parties involved know best why the engagement is being annulled."

Others didn't pay much attention to the 'parties' in Youshinyun's words.

‘That madman!’

Jinmihao and You Jinxiang were greatly shaken.

Their eyes trembled as if an earthquake had struck.

At that moment,

"You scum! I can't stand by and let you insult our young miss any longer!"

Fang Haili suddenly burst with internal energy, shouting.

The fierce aura of a peak martial artist filled the room.

Clang! Clang!

The warriors of the Baiyun Escort Agency and the Jin Family simultaneously drew their weapons.

A tense standoff unfolded, as if they were on the edge of a blade.

But in that situation, the emotion on Fang Haili's face was not anger, but confusion.

‘...Is he absorbing my energy?’

Youshinyun, who he thought would be shocked or wet his pants, casually let his energy pass through.

But only for a moment.

‘No, that's impossible. He must be gritting his teeth and enduring it.’

He organized his thoughts.

It was impossible for a man who knew nothing about martial arts to absorb the energy of a peak martial artist.

Whoosh!

Then another energy rose, countering Fang Haili's.

Turning his head, Fang Haili saw Dao Jinwu, the White Sword Hero, staring at him with a frosty gaze.

He spoke in a low voice,

"...Jinfuhe. Should we consider this a declaration of war from the Jin Family? If so, I am ready to fight right now."

Fang Haili flinched.

‘Damn! The old man is still as strong as ever, despite his age.’

Though they were both peak martial artists, there was a significant gap in their abilities.

Fang Haili was barely at the threshold of peak, while Dao Jinwu had been at the intermediate level for decades.

‘Tsk! Provoking the entire Baiyun Escort Agency is still too risky.’

Fang Haili clicked his tongue and retracted his energy.

He took a step back and said to Dao Jinwu,

"...We are not dissatisfied with the entire Baiyun Escort Agency. We only seek to repay the insult to our young miss."

Just as Dao Jinwu was about to speak, to say that the debt to the successor was a debt to the Baiyun Escort Agency,

"Truly, this is a difficult situation."

You Jinxiang cut in first.

"We cannot be responsible for a decision our brother made on his own, without consulting us. But it's also hard to stop the Jin Family from trying to protect the young miss's honor."

You Jinxiang cleverly drew a line between the Baiyun Escort Agency and Youshinyun.

Before Dao Jinwu could stop him, he made a sinister move.

"...So, considering the long-standing ties between the Baiyun Escort Agency and the Jin Family, how about we end this matter with a 'duel' between the two sides?"

As You Jinxiang finished speaking and gave Jinmihao a subtle nod, she quietly nodded.

A duel.

A good way to handle any unfortunate 'accidents' as mere 'mistakes.'

"That sounds good."

Fang Haili smiled and quickly agreed.

"No, no, our young master, who knows nothing of martial arts, in a duel!"

Wang San, sitting next to Youshinyun, turned pale and shouted, trembling.

"That's absurd! How can you challenge a non-martial artist to a duel!"

"That's right! This is unacceptable!"

Dao Jinwu and Lao Daixiong also spoke up simultaneously.

But Fang Haili did not back down.

"...Surely, a person in the position of successor would not cowardly retreat and pass the responsibility to others?"

He knew You Jinxiang would support him.

He made an even more humiliating statement.

"Well, if you're scared, why not kneel and beg our young miss now? I'm sure she, with a heart as vast as the sea, would forgive you."

The bodyguards of the Baiyun Escort Agency trembled with indignation.

If they didn't step in after hearing such words, the morale of the agency's members towards Youshinyun would surely hit rock bottom.

But then,

“...!”

“Y, Young Master!”

Everyone's eyes turned to Youshinyun.

Youshinyun stood up from his chair.

‘Hmph, just as I thought. Stupid boy, this is the end for you!’

You Jinxiang sneered at the sight.

Dao Jinwu and Lao Daixiong's faces turned white.

If the successor knelt out of fear for his life, the honor of the Baiyun Escort Agency would be ruined.

One step.

Two steps.

Youshinyun started walking towards Fang Haili.

The bodyguards all bowed their heads, unable to bear the sight of their master's humiliation.

Swoosh.

‘Huh?’

But contrary to their worries, Youshinyun walked past Fang Haili.

He walked out of the Qingyun Hall, which was now wide open.

He sighed deeply and said,

"Phew, what a racket. Why are you all making such a fuss?"

Everyone in the room was stunned.

Youshinyun, mocking their dumbfounded faces, spoke in a very calm voice,

"Let's go, I'll fight for you."

Wulin Saga: Reborn Coldblood